Under Stars
by GrizzBe
Summary: When the Tempest turns in for maintenance, the crew finds itself on its first vacation since they were commissioned. Scott has an interesting idea for how he wants to spend his well earned R&R.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everyone! I just finished up the game a few days ago and noticed a severe lack of Scott x Cora fics/content so I decided to help out and add my own fic! Like a lot of my stuff, this'll probably be a one shot unless people want to read more of this particular story. If you have any requests for other one shots you'd like to see, feel free to let me know! The title comes from the credits song, "_ Under Stars" _by_ AURORA, _in case you weren't aware._ _It's an awesome song. I hope y'all like the fic!_

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A foreign sun gently crests the horizon, the red giving way to orange, giving way to pink and finally blue as the sky began to signal that a new day had started on the as-yet unnamed planet. With the sun rose the wildlife, vaguely chirp-like sounds began in earnest in what could almost pass as a pine tree, you know, if you squinted real hard and tilted your head just right. In a small clearing lays a single tent, a fire pit, a pair of chairs, some well-secured equipment, and a small shuttle, its parent vessel maintaining a stationary orbit in the planet's thermosphere.

"Good morning, Scott. It's time to wake up," said the disembodied voice. At least he was using his external speakers instead of just piping his voice directly into his brain.

Scott groaned but only moved enough to flip the leftover comforter from the empty half of the bed-pad onto himself, "What time is it again, SAM?"

"It is 6:30 Standard Helius Time and 6:03 according to this planet's 26-hour-day," said SAM.

Scott let out another groan, "And why are you waking me up at 6:30 on the first vacation I've had since I got thawed out?"

"Because I was instructed to wake you up an hour after she left, Pathfinder," replied SAM, matter-of-factly.

At that, a smile cracked Scott's lips, and he let out a soft chuckle, "Of course you were."

The groggy pathfinder stretched and got out of bed. It wasn't long before a fire was roaring, a pot hanging above it. Scott sat in his seat and took in the planet waking up with him. Gaz-46, they were going to have to come up with a better name than that, had first been pinged by an Initiative reconnaissance satellite two weeks ago and had been quickly tagged as a potentially habitable world as initial tests came back promising: breathable air and drinkable water, chief among a long list of positives.

Upon further investigation of the initial findings, however, vast swaths of toxic fungal growth appeared to cover all but a fraction of the land on the planet. With no apparent monoliths poking out of the ground that might lead to a vault and a quick fix, Gaz-46 found itself freefalling on the list of priority worlds for terraforming for the Initiative.

Seriously, they were going to have to come up with a better name than that. "Toxic Fungal Death Planet is a better name than Gaz-46," breathed Scott.

"What was that, Pathfinder?" asked SAM.

"Wha-? Nothing, SAM, that was nothing," replied Scott, quickly. On second thought, Toxic Fungal Death Planet sounds like a really bad Batarian metal cover band that his friends would've listened to while trying to be rebellious on the Citadel.

"Your coffee is ready, Scott," said SAM.

"Thanks, SAM," said Scott, pouring the life-giving liquid into two mugs and a little cream into one. Scott stood up with the cups and looked out into the forest, "Alright, which way did she go?"

"She left the campsite due south; my bet is that she went to the nearby cliff that you two passed yesterday."

"Perfect!" exclaimed Scott, his characteristic energy seeping into his frame as he headed off in the direction of his early rising companion. As the Pathfinder wove his way through the trees, he couldn't help but feel that this really was a beautiful planet. The towering trees and cool air are what he felt Colorado would've been like had he ever managed to visit before heading off on this grand, sometimes stupid adventure.

Despite the inherent dangers of the planet, Scott felt lucky to be here, lucky that Gaz-46 popped up right around the time where a "vacation" was coming up for him and his crew while the Tempest went through some maintenance. While the others were spending their time on the Nexus or Meridian or any of the numerous other outposts they had helped set up since they came together, he was able to convince the Initiative leadership to lend him a small ship and some supplies so he could get some more thorough scientific readings from the planet. They weren't too keen on the idea at first, but he managed to smooth talk Kesh, Kandros, and Addison, ("It's in an empty system, no Kett or pirate activity to speak of") and the three bullied Tann into okaying the time and resources.

If he got some tent-time with his bunkmate under the stars, well, that was just a happy coincidence.

Scott cleared the line of trees and found her meditating a few yards from the cliff's ledge, overlooking the foggy, forested valley that stretched out below them. He took the time to ensure he approached her as quietly as possible, partly to not disturb her, but mostly because he always loved the serenity her face held. For someone as professional as her, the worry-free look she had during her morning meditations was exactly what he needed to start his day right. Well, that and the coffee.

He put her mug down near her and placed a light kiss on her cheek, being rewarded with a slight smile as he took a seat on a rock with a great view of her as well as the valley.

The meditating woman breathed in the aroma of the newly arrived coffee, opened her eyes, and found Scott, her smile growing a bit wider. "Good morning, Scott," said Cora.

"Is it morning? I thought it was still last night since vacation mornings start at 8:30 at the earliest and I'm pretty sure it's only seven right now," Scott smiled good-naturedly.

"Pathfinder, it is actually 7:07," chimed in SAM.

"And we're not technically on vacation," said Cora.

With that, Scott flopped back onto the rock, "Vacation? Scientific research mission? What's the difference?"

Cora grabbed her coffee and moved to sit next to Scott, leaning over him till her face was above his, a hand on either side of his shoulders and her smile as bright as the sun rising on the horizon. "If you wanted a vacation, we could've stayed on the Nexus," she said. "But I doubt we would've had a night like last night on the station."

Scott's brow furrowed and lips pursed in mock deep thought, "I suppose you're right, Lieutenant." Scott's hands found Cora's hips and the commando straddled him, pressing her body closer to his, "And I doubt we'd have a morning quite like this one, either."

The two explorers gazed into each other's eyes, the fire from last night roaring back to life as their lips crashed together.

"I am sorry Pathfinder, Lieutenant Harper, but you are scheduled to collect samples of Gaz-46's toxic fungus by 7:30," said SAM. "To make it to the predetermined site in time, you must leave soon."

Cora stifled a laugh in Scott's shoulder as he rolled his eyes, "SAM, I thought we had talked about timing?"

"I am sorry, Pathfinder, but if this mission is to retain legitimacy, an itinerary must be maintained."

Scott sighed, and Cora pushed herself off of him, stretched and took a sip of her coffee. "We should get moving then," said Cora. "Too much talk about fungus anyway."

"And 'Gaz-46'," said Scott, throwing his hands up in frustration. "If we only do one thing today, can it please be renaming this planet?"

Cora laughed again and leaned in for another kiss, "Of course."

The two headed back to the campsite to grab the necessary equipment and to put on their environmental hazard suits before heading off towards the border between their safe forest and the fields of toxic mushrooms.

The pair got to work, taking catalog of the various mushrooms they picked. They walked through the fields, making sure to get as much geographic variation as they could for their samples. If it weren't for their toxicity, it would almost be a nice view.

"That should be enough, Scott," said SAM after a few hours of collecting and cataloging samples.

"Oh really, SAM? That's good to hear!" said Scott, laying the sarcasm on thick before turning to Cora. "The next time I suggest disguising a romantic getaway as a scientific research mission, please quarantine me."

"Quarantine you and take control of the Tempest for myself?" Cora said, tapping a finger on her helmet's chin and giving the idea some thought. "I think I can do that."

"With Cora's implants still intact, the transition would be smooth, Pathfinder," said SAM.

"You're not supposed to agree to that, SAM!"

The two shared a laugh as they took off back towards their campsite. By the time they had stored and secured the samples on the shuttle it was noon, so the pathfinder and his second-in-command grabbed some rations and returned to their rock overlooking the valley. With the midday sun beating down and the early-morning fog long since evaporated, the valley took on an even grander air to it.

"How about 'Forest-topia'?" offered Scott.

"Absolutely not," responded Cora, a little too quickly for his liking.

"Gaia?"

"You saw all of those killer mushrooms, right?"

"Dorado?"

"Too… Mythical…"

"Endor."

"Nope."

"Toxic Fungal Death Planet?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

With that, Cora gave Scott a side eye and the Pathfinder couldn't help but laugh, soon joined by his companion. The two continued their lunch in silence, enjoying each other's proximity as well as the gorgeous view. Neither one was looking forward to the afternoon block of work, which had them hiking in the opposite direction to catalog samples at various sites in the forest.

Scott finished his last indulgent bite, and the two began to collect their things when a shuttle roared over their heads, moving down into the valley below.

"Are we supposed to be joined by any Initiative personnel today, SAM?" asked Cora.

"None were scheduled," replied SAM.

"Looks like we have some unannounced guests," said Scott.

"Just a moment," said SAM, Cora and Scott shared a quick look as the AI performed whatever function it was working on. "The craft has turned off its transponder, but its drive pattern matches activity associated with a relatively new pirate operation in the Govorkam system."

The shuttle set down in a small clearing several miles away from their perch, the dots of little pirates disembarking and milling about the patch of earth.

"Do you have an accurate count?" asked Scott.

"Five figures have exited the shuttle, Pathfinder, but there could be more inside," replied SAM. "With their flight path and velocity, it would have been difficult for them to have spotted you."

"Well, we'd be rude not to stop by and say hello, wouldn't we?" asked Scott.

Cora merely rolled her eyes and shook her head, "And you were worried today was going to be boring."

"SAM, can you see them from the orbiting ship?"

"Yes, Pathfinder."

"Keep an eye on them and let us know if they move, alright?"

"Acknowledged."

With that, the two pathfinders took off back to their ship and changed into their armor. They only brought it as a condition set by Tann. He didn't quite understand why he'd need his gear for a quiet, boring scientific mission to an empty system but Scott found himself happy that he had agreed to it.

Scott had just clipped on his helmet when Cora stepped out of the shuttle, her shotgun in hand.

"Did you bring any cookies?" Scott asked, he could practically see the look she was giving him. "What? I don't want to show up empty-handed! First impressions are important."

"You're ridiculous, Scott Ryder."

"You know you love it." That had certainly earned him an eye roll.

Cora walked over and patted his chest plate, "You're lucky you're cute."

Scott smiled and nodded his head, "The luckiest."

The two secured their weapons and set off to greet the most unlucky group of pirates in the Heleus Cluster.


	2. Chapter 2

The galaxy's most dangerous duo picked their way silently and professionally through the forest, their cliff fading into the background as they came ever-closer to the pirate campsite. "Galaxy's Most Dangerous Duo" had a nice ring to it, he'd have to remember to ask Cora how she liked it later.

Scott picked his footing carefully, each step made to ensure total silence and to keep the element of surprise squarely in their corner. SAM had spotted an additional two pirates from their ship up in orbit, still not anything that should give him and Cora any reason to pause but Scott was all about surprises. Slowly, the voices of the pirates grew and, eventually, their shuttle came into view.

Scott and Cora hunkered down behind a fallen tree and began to survey the field. Several of the pirates were hauling crates from the shuttle and setting them aside; two others were rummaging through them, marking their contents. One sat on top of the shuttle, appearing to shout at the others.

"Well, there's the leader," whispered Scott. He magnified each of the pirates, taking stock of what kind of ordinance the ragtag group was using. Mostly M-8 Avengers, one had a Katana, and the Angaran had an Isharay but, overall, they weren't sporting top-of-the-line gear.

"I don't know," said Cora, giving the obvious leader a glance. "He could just be the loudmouth that everyone else has to put up with."

Cora crept forward as Scott reevaluated the man sitting atop the shuttle shouting instructions, "Why does that seem like a thinly veiled joke at my expense?"

"What joke?" asked Cora, with all the innocence she could muster as Scott crept up behind her.

"Oh. Oh Cora, that cuts deep," whispered Scott.

His second-in-command stifled a laugh and grabbed him at the base of his neck before pressing her helmet's visor against his in their developed shorthand for a kiss. He always appreciated these armored kisses, but they weren't quite the same as the real thing, the two usually kept a tally and made up for them in-the-flesh later on.

"Alright, how do we want to go at this?" asked Cora. "SAM, do you see any biotics in the crew?"

"None are readily apparent, Ms. Harper," said SAM. "One would assume if they had biotics, they wouldn't bother with manually offloading their cargo."

"Any intel on our uninvited guests?" asked Scott. "Why they're here? Where they came from? What might be in those big ol' crates of theirs?"

"They call themselves 'The Black Holes', Pathfinder, and no fewer than eight hijackings have been attributed to them in the past month," said SAM. "It is not readily apparent why they are here, nor what they might have in their crates. There have been no pirate actions reported in the area recently."

"'The Black Holes'? We should take them down just for having such a lame name," declared Scott.

"With nothing reported, they probably robbed another gang," said Cora. "Which probably means they're going to be jumpy, waiting for the other gang to strike."

"Makes sense," agreed Ryder, giving the group a final look over.

"So how do you want to go at this?" asked Cora, turning to give her partner her full attention. Even with all of his gear on, she could tell the wheels in his head were turning, which usually meant that he was going to do something foolish.

"Just… wait for my signal," said Scott as he hopped from behind cover and started slowly walking towards the pirates completely unarmed.

"Signal?!" hissed Cora as the Pathfinder walked casually towards danger. "That's not a plan, Scott!"

She shook her head in frustration but prepared herself; she had been with Scott long enough to know he didn't just walk into danger without a plan, regardless of how much it looked like he did. Whatever his signal was, she'd catch it, and she'd be ready.

Scott held his hands out in front of him as he picked his path toward the clearing carefully, his mind racing to formulate something akin to a plan. One of these days he'd learn to actually think of something before jumping headfirst into the next deadly encounter, but it obviously wasn't going to be today. The leader was still shouting from on top of the shuttle, and the others continued to bumble around on the ground. As he got closer, the pirates appeared less and less competent.

"You said these guys are responsible for eight hijackings in the last month, SAM?" asked Scott.

"That is correct, Scott," said SAM.

"How on earth did they manage that?" asked Scott, mostly to himself. Then, to SAM, "What are the casualty figures with their raids?"

"Nearly two dozen colonists, several outlaws, and nine Angarans," replied SAM.

"Well, that makes this business a lot easier," said Scott, a cloud falling over his features for a brief moment.

The pirates hadn't noticed him by the time he made it to the clearing, so he took a few more tenuous steps out in front of them. After they still hadn't noticed him, he cleared his throat loudly. The talk around the shuttle died down as the group turned to face him. For a split second time stopped before the pirates began shouting and grabbing their weapons, every muzzle pointed at the Pathfinder.

"Now now, everybody, no need to get aggressive just yet!'' exclaimed Scott, entirely in his element. "I just want to talk! Anyone here I can talk to?"

The obvious leader of the group hopped off the shuttle and made his way toward the Pathfinder, no longer pointing his shotgun at Scott but not putting it away entirely either. He wasn't tall, only coming up to Scott's chin, but he was solidly built, he had apparently earned his way to the top of this particular heap through force and intimidation.

"That'd be me, asshole," said the leader, his gruff voice matching the idea of the oafish thug that Scott had already assigned to him in his head. "Whadaya want an' why shouldn't I blast you off the face of this planet right now?"

This guy really wasn't helping his case for not being the ball in a game of biotic catch between him and Cora, thought Scott. He tried his hardest to suppress the grin that was spreading around the corners of his mouth, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Pirate. My name's Scott, human Pathfinder, defeated the Kett Archon, established several colonies, you might have heard of me."

The pirates began to murmur, looking at each other hesitantly, their weapons wavering a fraction more.

"I just thought I'd let you know that this planet's been claimed, so if you don't mind climbing in your ship and taking off, I'd be greatly appreciative," only the slightest hint of a threat finding its way into Scott's voice, his confidence oozing through his words. "Oh, and go ahead and leave the cargo, the Initiative will appreciate your contribution."

With that, the murmurs grew louder, the leader's eyes darted between his men before coming back at Scott, anger burning in his eyes.

"We supposed to be afraid of the big bad Pathfinder, huh?" challenged the short man. "Last I checked, eight was better'n one and bullets put you down just as good as any other person."

Scott's laugh had a chilling effect on the pirates around him, "You think you're supposed to be afraid of me? No no no, you shouldn't be afraid of me, right now you should be afraid of _her_. You can be afraid of me in a second."

"Her?" was all the pirate leader managed to utter, the confusion on his face turning to utter horror as Scott's biotics grabbed ahold of him and lifted him helplessly off the ground.

The sonic boom crackled through the air as Cora charged in, sending the pirate's lifeless body flying into the forest, cracking against branches before landing out of sight. Chaos quickly gripped the rest of the pirates as the Pathfinder disappeared into thin air. The rest of the fight was quick, the pirates incapable of mounting any concerted effort, several falling to their comrades own fire.

Within minutes, Scott and Cora met in the middle of the clearing, their slight huffing the only evidence that either of them had done anything more stringent than a brief jog. Both took off their helmets and smiled, enjoying the silence after the thunder of battle, seeing in each other's eyes how happy they were to see the other safe and sound.

"Nice work, Lieutenant Harper," said Scott. "Glad to see you caught my signal."

"Not so bad yourself, Pathfinder. And was that what that was?" Cora asked, rolling her eyes as her smile grew just a touch more radiant. "I could've sworn that was just a flying man that needed hitting."

"It was a rather obvious signal, Pathfinder," chimed SAM.

"We're going to work on sarcasm later, SAM," said Scott as the two operatives shared a laugh. "Now, what do we have in these boxes?"

Scott clapped his hands together and rubbed them as he and Cora approached the nearest crate. He hit the latch, and the two of them raised the lid, peaking in to get a better look. Inside, packages of freeze dried steak lined the crate, actual earth-cow steak. The box would be worth a small fortune. Cora opened another container to find it stacked with bottles of Asari and human wine, their labels a testament to their vintage.

"I've heard of this place before," said Cora, inspecting one of the bottles. "One of the best vineyards in Asari space. It would've fetched thousands on the Citadel back in the milky way. There's no telling how much you could get for it on Kadara, not to mention the Nexus."

"Kadara appears to be this cargo's original destination, Lieutenant Harper," said SAM. "Upon further investigation of the labels on the crates, these foodstuffs were purchased by Sloane Kelly from a black market vendor and meant for a private party. She paid a hefty price."

"Well, she'll be ecstatic to hear that her good friend Scott found them," said Scott, chuckling while looking over the spoils of their fight. "SAM, let Sloane know that we found her fancy food and that we'll be dropping it off the next time we're at Kadara Port. Also, tell her that I'm more than a little hurt that I didn't get an invite to her party."

"Will do, Pathfinder," said SAM.

The sun was beginning to descend before Scott realized that they had blown past the afternoon. He found his stomach grumbling as he realized that dinner was supposed to be an hour ago. Scott looked down at the steaks and plucked two of the best looking cuts from the crate before closing it up and securing it.

"And what do you think you're doing?" asked Cora, a playful smirk curling on her lips. "You don't think Sloane'll be counting all of those when she gets them back?"

"Finder's fee," said Scott, smiling as he shrugged his shoulders. "And payment for not getting an invite."

Cora laughed before leaning over the wines and plucking a couple of expensive looking bottles if their fancy labels were any indication. She walked over to Scott and motioned back towards the cliff and the campsite on top.

"What say we head back and have ourselves a nice dinner?" asked Cora.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," said Scott, leaning over to give her a quick kiss.

The sun was down by the time they made it back to their tent and Scott immediately got to work stoking a new fire. It wasn't long before their steaks crackled over the flames, the explorers clinking the glasses that Cora had managed to find in the shuttle. Well, not actually 'clinking' as they were metal tumblers and not real glass, but close enough.

The two enjoyed their extravagant meal in companionable silence, enjoying the flickering shadows playing across each other's faces from the fire.

"That was incredible," said Cora as she took a sip from her wine.

"You could say that again," agreed Scott. "It was almost as good as sex."

"Almost?" said Cora, a devilish smile overcoming her wine-red lips. She got up and walked over to Scott, her hips swaying as she caressed the scruff on his jawline. "Don't you think it's about time for dessert?"

"I do believe it is," said Scott with a toothy grin, his body on autopilot as he followed his second-in-command toward their tent.

This expedition was easily the best idea he'd had since he'd been thawed out. Well, maybe second best after deciding he wanted to get to know one Cora Harper better. The work would be waiting for them when they woke up, but right now, under these alien stars, he was perfectly content to enjoy the company of the most important person in the galaxy to him.

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Well, there's Chapter 2! I hope y'all liked it and thanks so much for reading! I'm loving this pairing the more I write for them, such a great power couple. If you have any requests, feel free to ask!


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